In April, CPA Australia's painfully haughty president Peter Wilson attacked an item in this column for supposed "inaccuracies". Of the appointment to the accounting standards body's board of Western Australia's new Auditor-General Caroline Spencer, we dared observe that paying her CPA's (recently reduced) $75,000-per-annum stipend for directors would be a breach of state law. "Or will she forego her director's fee," we wondered on this page. "Wilson hasn't told members anything about that." If you can spot the inaccuracy, we'll throw a garden party.

CPA confirmed to its members that Spencer's $75k will be paid directly into state revenue as compensation for her absence from primary duties. This was standard practice until Alex Malley and his mates Richard Petty and Graeme Wade overhauled the organisation's constitution repeatedly for their own spectacular enrichment. On their watch, board fees became the automatic proceeds of the director, not their employer.

So what of Tasmania's Deputy Auditor-General Ric De Santi, who joined Wilson's "overhauled" board 13 months ago, despite having been a divisional councillor from 2005 to 2014 and again in 2017, state president in 2009 and, nationally, a representative councillor in 2013 and 2014. The bloke is a veritable creature of Malley's CPA. Is the Tasmanian taxpayer (in net terms, all four of them) being compensated for his side gig?

Well, the Tasmanian Audit Office's annual report was released on October 31. Were he foregoing the personal enrichment, it would appear in the "other revenue" line of the TAO's accounts. But for the year to June 30, TAO's other revenue is a mere $21,000, nowhere near high enough to account for the $56,250 CPA paid De Santi (or his nominee). Good to see CPA hasn't strayed too far into the light!

A CPA spokesperson confirmed that "Ric De Santi receives director fees personally" but that Spencer "has instead performed her duties as a CPA Australia director on a pro bono basis". And good on her.

What, we wonder, will Premier Will Hodgman and Treasurer Peter Gutwein have to say about this quiet little lurk occurring in the agency responsible for keeping the entire government's books clean and tidy?

CPA Australia have now responded to serious issues raised by the Australian Financial Review with regards Ric De Santi advising that he is to cease receiving his director fees from CPA Australia. Why so late, when he was appointed in October 2017?

Have CPA Australia received legal advise, and if they did, how much did it cost CPA Australia?

Has Ric De Santi breached his employment obligations under the relevant Tasmanian public servant laws, given that he was a paid Director of CPA Australia and CPA Australia receives Tasmanian government payments for its education and membership services which is provides to public servants?

Has Ric De Santi while in paid employment of CPA Australia since October 2017 until now, been is serious conflict of interest with his role as Deputy Auditor General of Tasmania? Does this now raise some serious questions about conflict of interest under relevant audit standards and serious concerns about the report produced by the Tasmanian Auditor General Office?

Should Ric De Santi now resign from his position as Director of CPA Australia or should he resign as Deputy Auditor General of Tasmania for breaching his obligations?

Did Ric De Santi obtain government approval for appointment as Director of CPA Australia, given CPA Australia provides training services to Tasmanian government employees?

Did the Auditor General of Tasmania approve Ric De Santi appointment as Director of CPA Australia in October 2017, and if he did why the change after 1 year sinces Ric De Santi appointment???

Last edited by JWheldon on Tue Nov 20, 2018 8:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

CPA Australia president Peter Wilson wrote to his members on Tuesday on a number of matters, one of them being director remuneration.

In announcing a specific change in those arrangements, Wilson referred directly to "a recent article published in The Australian Financial Review", which would be the one in which we pointed out that Tasmania's Deputy Auditor-General Ric de Santi has been happily trousering $75,000 per annum in CPA members' money since joining the board 12 months ago.

Western Australia's Auditor-General Caroline Spencer, to her enduring credit, forwent her director's fee and serves CPA members on a pro bono basis, although this is necessary under WA law. Until we raised the rort, de Santi was happy to feast on the pocket money. Hey, back in the day, $75k would buy you a block of flats in Hobart.

De Santi's sudden decision to give up this lurk was made "in consultation with the Auditor General" of Tassie; euphemism lives! In consultation? Sounds like more of a classic pull-through. This became effective on Friday. Which means de Santi won't repay the $75k he hungrily partook of in the preceding 12 months. As a fawning creature of Alex Malley's era at CPA, it was a relatively modest reward a long time coming. Here's hoping he spent it wisely.